SHAMROCK ENTRY LIST UP TO 45 FOR MARCH 10 USAC MIDGET OPENER AT DuQUOIN

By: Richie Murray – USAC Media

Du Quoin, Illinois………The field for the “Shamrock Classic” has grown to 45 with the latest entries received over the weekend for the USAC P1 Insurance Midget National Championship season opener on Saturday, March 10.

New entries come from Illinois racing veterans Terry Babb (Decatur) and Daniel Robinson (Ewing) who are among the seven representatives from the Land of Lincoln. Gage Walker (Fairland) is the newest Indiana driver to join the field, one of 11 Hoosiers to throw their hat into the ring. USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year contender Matt Moore (Bethany) is one of seven Oklahomans.

The drivers and cars previously entered make up a star-studded lineup for the 50-lap showdown. Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian stable will bring seven drivers, including defending USAC National Midget champion Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, Indiana, Californians Ryan Robinson (Foresthill), Tanner Carrick (Lincoln), Logan Seavey (Sutter), Tucker Klaasmeyer of Paola, Kans., Sam Johnson, of St. Peters, Mo. and Harli White of Lindsay, Okla., who is substituting for Holly Shelton while she recovers from a shoulder injury.

The two past Southern Illinois Center winners, and teammates, Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) and Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.) as well as USAC Rookie of the Year candidate Zeb Wise of Angola, Ind. to form a formidable three-car Clauson/Marshall Racing lineup.

Current USAC National Sprint Car point leader Kevin Thomas, Jr. of Cullman, Ala. And USAC Triple Crown champ Jerry Coons, Jr. make up a stout two-car team for Petry/Goff Motorsports. Mitchell, Indiana’s Chase Briscoe, the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year, is entered to drive his own No. 5 along with standouts Thomas Meseraull of San Jose, Calif. (Joe Dooling No. 63) and Collinsville, Oklahoma’s Tyler Thomas (Tyler Thomas No. 91T).

Two-time USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Champion Brady Bacon and FMR Racing have teamed up for another go at a title run. Chad Boat, winner of six career USAC National Midget races, has entered the event as one of two drivers in the Tucker/Boat Motorsports stable along with series Rookie of the Year contender Zane Hendricks of Stillwater, Okla. Greenfield, Indiana’s C.J. Leary intends to make a rare midget start for Gray Auto, for who he made a pair of starts with back in 2015.

Billy Wease of Noblesville, Indiana has found big success in his midget racing career, winning the “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in 2006. Additionally, he’s won a USAC Midget race indoors at the Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum in 2007. Both experiences bode well for the veteran driver as he pilots the Amanda Wease No. 12.

The $3900-to-win USAC Midget purse honors the memory of Bryan Clauson’s success in car No. 39 at the Southern Illinois Center over the years. The additional $900 added to the winner’s share is courtesy of Stenhouse Jr. Racing. Factory Canopies has also come aboard to pledge their support to the event.

In addition, micro sprints are on the card with a $750-to-win prize. The format will utilize passing points to lock 12 drivers into the night’s feature through the heat races, with four more from each B-Main to lock in the 20-car lineup.

TIMES

The timetable for the “Shamrock Classic” begins with participant parking on Friday, March 9, from 4-7pm. Saturday’s raceday schedule begins with pits opening at 8am. Spectator gates open at 10am, followed by a “pit sweep” at 11am. The micro sprint drivers’ meeting gets underway at 11:30am, with micro sprint hot laps set for noon and their heat races immediately following. A public drivers’ meeting for the midgets is open to all race fans at 3pm in the turn one grandstand. Midget hot laps begin at 4pm with racing for both the micro sprints and midget immediately following. The night concludes with the 50-lap midget feature event.

600cc Performance has posted a $500 hard charger award for the micro sprints. Speed Shack Performance and Littleton’s Storm & Timber Services are proud supporters of the micro sprint portion of the event as well. Micro sprint entry is $40 and only the first 40 micro sprint driver entries are eligible to compete by registering at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2018-shamrock-classic-tickets. Entry registration opens 7pm on Thursday, Feb. 8. No micro sprint entries will be taken at the gate on race day.

TICKETS

“Shamrock Classic” tickets are on sale now at https://usacracing.ticketspice.com/2018-shamrock-classic-tickets. Reserved seats are $25 for the highly-anticipated event that brought over 50 of the top midget drivers in the country in each of the past two seasons, and the highest car count of any USAC National Midget points event during the 2017 season. Fans will receive a free “Shamrock Classic” event t-shirt with their purchase of a reserved ticket.

Adult general admission tickets are $20; kids 6-12 are $10 and kids 5 years-old and under are FREE! Pit passes are $30 for USAC Members/$35 for non-members. Pit passes can be purchased at http://www.tracpass.com/.